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Engen honours KwaZulu-Natal top achievers

Engen Petroleum, South Africa’s leading producer and marketer of a wide range of fuels, lubricants and oil-based products, honoured KwaZulu-Natal’s top performing Engen Maths & Science Schools (EMSS) learners at their graduation. The ceremony, which took place at Fairvale Secondary School marks the successful programme’s 30th year.

The graduation awards reward and recognise learners who have excelled through the EMSS support programme, achieving top notch Bachelor passes, distinctions and graduation. More than a mere nod to shining academic results, it is a tribute to their commitment to exceling despite tough socio-economic conditions and to securing their future tertiary education.

According to Engen’s Corporate Social Investment Manager, Mntu Nduvane, the ceremony aims to honour the EMSS students who show potential and acquire the sought-after skills – with the focus on Science, Maths and English knowledge acquisition.

Nduvane says: “These learners have taken on an intense extra tuition programme, and their lives are forever changed as their reward. They know success comes to those who want it and work for it. It is this philosophy that has made EMSS learners increasingly successful over the years.”

“As Engen, we commend our top KZN EMSS achievers who all received distinctions for English, Maths and Science,” he adds.

The top KZN EMSS achievers were:

1st in the KZN region

Mpangase Lwandile

2nd in the KZN region

Ndima Zamandwandwe

3rd in the KZN region

Talia Pillay

4th in the KZN region

Letisha Girdhari

In 2015 the EMSS accepted more than 1894 learners from grades 10 to 12 with 1030 of these learners being female and 864 being male. KwaZulu-Natal has the largest learner population with tuition offered to 329 matriculants across its four regional centres.

The demographics of the schools speak closely to the skills development, BEE and Social Investment imperatives of Engen. With 97% of the learner population being black (African, Coloured and Indian) and a substantial number being from previously disadvantaged communities, the programme remains true to the South African objectives of previously disadvantaged community upliftment.

“Year-on-year, the EMSS results have soared with favourable increases in the average pass rate of learners as well as the number of learners who achieve bachelor passes and subject distinctions,” says Nduvane.

Although the Engen schools have a seemingly small role to play in the grander education terrain, there have been very notable successes with learners who otherwise would have no access to these resources. What’s more, the Engen schools currently have alumni in South African universities on Engen bursaries, many of whom, on graduating attend the 18-24 month Engen Graduate Programme, which can lead to permanent employment at Engen where they can work their way through the ranks of the company.

“Recognising the need for engineers and technical experts in the oil industry, we are committed to addressing the critical skills shortage in South Africa. The EMSS programme evolved out of the Engen Saturday Schools initiative, launched in the mid-1980s and this year marks the schools 30th anniversary. Thousands of graduates have benefitted over the past three decades. We are exceptionally proud of all our graduates and wish them the best in their upcoming studies and careers,” says Tasneem Sulaiman-Bray, Engen General Manager: Corporate Affairs.